Homunculus and the Cat, by Nathan Croft

Genre: contemporary-fantasy

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release­­: August 31, 2015

Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

Homunculus and the Cat – Just a typical kitten saves the afterlife story, disguised as a book about death.

In a world where every culture’s mythology is real, Medusa’s sisters want revenge on Poseidon, Troy is under siege again, and the Yakuza want their homunculi (mythological artificial humans) back. Near Atlantis’ Chinatown, a kitten and her human campaign for homunculi rights. Against them are Japanese death gods, an underworld cult, and a fat Atlantean bureaucrat.

The main character dies (more than once) and a few underworlds’ way of death is threatened. Also with giant armored battle squids.

My Review

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

Since cats are my favourite animals and I adore them completely, I was really happy to see that a winged cat was one of the main characters in this book. I’m not sure if her kind actually exists in mythology… but it was still an interesting concept. And I thought the descriptions of her came across really well.

It was interesting to see bits and pieces of the world around, though I did spend a lot of the book completely confused about the kind of world they were in. While things did make a bit more sense later on, I did spend an awful lot of the book completely lost about why there were a lot of modern things in what seemed like a fantasy setting.

I thought the concept of the godfriends was a really cool one and it was especially good to see that many of them weren’t the obvious ones… such as Euryale and Ahmet. I also thought it was cool to see that the cat was named by her godfriend and how the name of the god became part of her name.

It was nice to get some idea of what different aspects were in the world, even if many of those didn’t really fit in with each other.

I thought it was good to see the cat interacting with various other characters and the nine lives thing was really interesting to see… but the description of the fire was awful. I cringed when I read it and actually found myself getting a bit emotional.

While it was difficult to read about the prejudice many of the characters were facing, I was intrigued by the whole concept of the beings. While they were apparently soulless, they certainly seemed to have feelings and emotions.

There was a lot that was intriguing about this book. I didn’t like that there wasn’t a proper resolution to part of the story at the end, but I really did love a lot of what the cat came out with. And I enjoyed seeing her interacting with Tyro. In the future, I would definitely be interested in reading more books by this author… and hopefully a sequel to this one.

About The Author

Nathan Croft is a self-proclaimed first-world-fantasy-anarchist, lover/writer of contemporary, punk, sometimes morbid, dark, weird, super-happy, and literary fantasy & mythology. Connoisseur of trope subversion and elegant rule dissection. Always good for craft discussion, sushi included preferably.

Reads anything resembling “literary fantasy.” Adoration to R. Zelazney, L. Grossman, C. Mieville, T. Pratchett, D. Adams, C. Lewis, U. LeGuinn, and a few Brandons.

Husband, father. Nocturnal.

Craves actual honest to goodness ball-bearing, adrenaline, die-if-you-fall, “don’t you dare go out without a helmet,” distance times time, kind of speeds. Still has a driver’s license.

Retweets, shares, favorites, follows, upvotes, and keeps ~50 Chrome tabs open at all times. Hates math. Incessant gamer. Retro, sanbox & Steam. MTG, TES. (ask, will friend) Into post rock, lo-fi, EDM, prog-house, most anything-tronica, neo-folk, chiptune, and 2nd wave emo. (ask at your own risk) Favorites: The Smashing Pumpkins & Shiny Toy Guns.

 Find Nathan Croft Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

About Curiosity Quills Press

Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a small hybrid publishing company specializing in genre fiction of the highest quality. With 150+ titles in our catalog already and approximately 6 new books coming out each month, there’s never a dull moment at CQ. We work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible to ensure that you, the reader, can find whatever you are looking for at your convenience.

Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Lisa Gus, CQ was initially a resource portal for writing and publishing, created in an effort to help writers, like themselves, survive the publishing industry. After rapid success, CQ morphed into publishing press that over time has solidified its share in the market. Now we spend our days searching for the next great escape!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Deadly Delicious by K.L. Kincy

Genre: middle-grade, paranormal fantasy

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release­­: August 10, 2015

Cover Artist: Ihor Reshetnikov

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

Twelve-year-old Josephine DeLune can’t take the heat this sweltering summer of 1955, and she was out of the kitchen long ago.

An awful cook, she ruins recipes left and right, and she certainly can’t compete with her family’s reputation for extraordinary food. Her daddy’s parents ran one of the best restaurants in all of Paris, but Josephine lives in Paris, Missouri. On her mama’s side, she’s up against a long tradition of sinfully delicious soul food. Rumor has it, her Creole ancestors cooked up some voodoo to make tasty even tastier. Josephine knows the secret ingredient: she comes from a long line of conjure witches with spellbinding culinary skills.

Disenchanted, Josephine works as a carhop at Carl and Earl’s Drive-In. Just plain old hamburgers, hot dogs, and curly fries, nothing magical about them. She’s got bigger fish to fry, though, when a grease fire erupts into a devilish creature who hisses her name with desire. Turns out he’s the Ravenous One, the granddaddy of all voodoo spirits, and he’s hungry for her soul. Josephine thinks he’s got the wrong girl-she’s no witch-but a gorgeous, dangerous night-skinned lady named Shaula sets her straight. Josephine is one of the most powerful witches alive, so overflowing with conjure that her out-of-control cooking simply catches fire.

Josephine would love to laugh this off, but Shaula warns her that she must learn to master her magic before the Ravenous One devours her soul. Spurred into action, Josephine breaks out her grandma’s old conjure cookbook and starts cooking. Nothing grand, just the usual recipes for undying friendship and revenge. But soon Josephine can’t escape the consequences of her conjure. When the people of Paris start turning into zombies with a strange fondness for cake, Josephine looks pretty responsible for their undead reawakening…

My Review

(I received a free copy of this book in exchangge for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I thought the plot of this book was a really intriguing one. I liked the fact that Josephine’s family clearly had a reputation for cooking with ‘conjuring’… though I was a bit confused about how much Josephine’s dad was actually aware of.

I liked the first part of the book. I felt it drew me in really easily and that I was able to follow the storyline fairly easily. It was interesting to see Shaula throughout the book. I was left unsure about her motivations and alignment for most of the book. I would have liked some more details about her and how she was connected with Josephine.

It was interesting to see how the legends varied and that there seemed to be a whole culture related to the witchcraft. It would have been good to see more of other witch families, since I can’t imagine Josephine’s is the only family who can do that kind of magic..

I thought the atmosphere of the book came across particularly well, even though the attitudes of some of the other characters towards Josephine were really awful. I did like Quentin, even though I had a lot of dislike for Authelia. Despite some of the things she comes out with, I didn’t really have a lot of sympathy for her.

I thought it was cool to see the different forms of ingredients that went into the recipes. I thought it was interesting to see that the zombies were desperate for cake and the reasons why made a lot of sense.

I liked seeing Josephine’s interactions with her family and it was also good to see the detrimental effect on them from the news articles. I also thought it was cool to see the effects the pie had on Quentin’s dog. It made me smile to read about that.

I thought this book was easy to read and very entertaining. In the future, I would be interested in reading more books by this author… and a sequel to this book, hopefully. It would be good to see more of Josephine… and hopefully learn more about her family history

About The Author

K. L. Kincy (Duvall, Washington) loves zombies, though she hopes to meet only the cake-eating kind. Deadly Delicious is her first book for children. She has a BA in Linguistics and Literature from The Evergreen State College.

K. L. Kincy also writes for teens and adults as Karen Kincy.

Find Karen Kincy Online:

Facebook | Goodreads

About Curiosity Quills Press

Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a small hybrid publishing company specializing in genre fiction of the highest quality. With 150+ titles in our catalog already and approximately 6 new books coming out each month, there’s never a dull moment at CQ. We work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible to ensure that you, the reader, can find whatever you are looking for at your convenience.

Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Lisa Gus, CQ was initially a resource portal for writing and publishing, created in an effort to help writers, like themselves, survive the publishing industry. After rapid success, CQ morphed into publishing press that over time has solidified its share in the market. Now we spend our days searching for the next great escape!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Clockwork Menagerie (Shadows of Asphodel, #2.5), by Karen Kincy

Genre: Historical-fantasy romance

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release­­: September 1, 2015

Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

A companion novella to the Shadows of Asphodel series, from Konstantin’s point of view.

Konstantin would love to hide in his laboratory and dissect the clockwork dragon captured from Russia, but the Archmages of Vienna have other plans. He finds himself shipped off to St. Petersburg as the scientific attaché to an ambassador. His orders? Look, but don’t touch. Of course, he considers this an impossible request with so much enemy technomancy to explore.

To make matters worse, Konstantin has to work with the dashing zeppelin commander Himmel, a man who should also be untouchable. They can’t act on the smoldering attraction between them without risking it all. Faced with an illegal relationship and a devious rival technomancer, Konstantin might not return from this mission in Russia without conquering the forbidden.

My Review

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having read the previous two books in this series, I was really happy to have the opportunity to read this novella set in the same universe.

I liked being able to see Konstantin and Himmel in this story. Although I would have liked to see the events expanded a bit, it was nice to see the hints in the previous book come to fruition.

It was interesting to see Konstantin from his own perspective. Although he was a well-rounded character in the previous books (and there were times I felt sorry for him), it added a new dimension to be able to see him as a main, focal character.

I thought the author did a good job of showing Konstantin’s struggle with what he wanted and the laws that were in place. It was interesting that, for all the advances in society, the people didn’t have the freedom to love those they were attracted to. I found it really easy to follow Konstantin’s struggle… and see how he wanted to be with Himmel but was scared of losing everything.

It was good to see some of the clockwork technology, though I wasn’t sure how the soul elements really fit in. Because the book was shorter, the villain wasn’t as well-rounded as they could have been.

I liked seeing Konstantin with the dog and it was good to see him interacting with the other characters. I was a bit disappointed that the elements of conflict shown to begin with weren’t expanded upon… but I did believe in the main characters’ feelings for each other. And by the end, I was rooting for them to get together.

It was a bit disappointing not to have the opportunity to see more of the characters from the previous two books, since I would have liked to see how Konstantin viewed them. I did like the fact that he was still an active character and didn’t just rely constantly on his magic, or for someone else to save the day.

I’d definitely be interested in reading more books in this series in the future. This was quick and easy to read… but it did leave me wanting more.

About The Author

Karen Kincy (Kirkland, Washington) can be found lurking in her writing cave, though sunshine will lure her outside. When not writing, she stays busy gardening, tinkering with aquariums, or running just one more mile. Karen has a BA in Linguistics and Literature from The Evergreen State College.

Find Karen Kincy Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

About Curiosity Quills Press

Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a small hybrid publishing company specializing in genre fiction of the highest quality. With 150+ titles in our catalog already and approximately 6 new books coming out each month, there’s never a dull moment at CQ. We work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible to ensure that you, the reader, can find whatever you are looking for at your convenience.

Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Lisa Gus, CQ was initially a resource portal for writing and publishing, created in an effort to help writers, like themselves, survive the publishing industry. After rapid success, CQ morphed into publishing press that over time has solidified its share in the market. Now we spend our days searching for the next great escape!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads